Agency’s epic job listing puts social media skills to the test

That’s the message that ad firm Wieden + Kennedy is sending to applicants who want to work on the Old Spice account. The brand has pioneered the recent rise in what I like to call “randomarketing.” The more random, obscure, absurd, and unpredictable its marketing can be, the more … deodorant they sell?

Sure, we’ll go with that.

Now the agency behind the random ads wants some fresh blood working on the campaign and it has some wonderfully specific criteria for its applicants—or rather, challenges. Fully outlined on the company’s website, complete with lawyered-up rules, you can find the posting for a social strategist position.

A person with three to five years of preferred agency experience will be asked to submit entries to the following challenges:

• Challenge 1 - Create the best original Pinterest board dedicated to the sport of inline speed skating (NOT roller-hockey).

• Challenge 2 - Create and post an original piece of content to Reddit that then receives the most upvotes in a single week.

• Challenge 4 - Get the most people to friend your mother or your father (or a parent-like figure in your life) on Facebook in a single week.

• Challenge 5 - Create an original (new) Twitter account and then use it to get the most followers in a week using any verbs you like, but only the following nouns: “BLUEFUDGE,” “HAMMERPANTS” and “GREEK YOGURT.”

• Challenge 6 - Create an original YouTube video that then receives the most plays in a single week using this script verbatim:

o #1: “Wait. What are you doing?”o #2: “Trust me. This will be fine.”o #1: “Ok. Go ahead.”

• Challenge 7 - Get recommendations on LinkedIn from at least three other people trying to get this job.

• Challenge 8 - Create the most reviewed recipe on allrecipes.com in a single week using cottage cheese as an ingredient. The reviews don't have to be good.

• Challenge 9 - Upload the most pictures of your armpit(s) to Instagram during the course of this challenge. The pictures must have your face in them to verify your identity and include the hashtag #mypits.

• Challenge 10 - Using Quora, give thought-out, meaningful answers to as many dream catcher-related questions as possible in a single week.

There are your marching orders. And those of you who are currently employed, best of luck keeping these efforts hidden from your co-workers. That, for many, will be the real challenge.
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